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Indian mythology for me is reminiscent of all that I have read in the Amar Chitra Katha comics. The two Indian epics I know well are due to the good old television serials – Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayana’ and B.R.Chopra’s magnum opus ‘Mahabharata’. Then after decades came Indian author Amish Tripathi and his Shiva trilogy – ‘The immortals of Meluha’, ‘The secret of the Nagas’ and ‘The oath of the Vayuputras’. This series had me engrossed and catapulted me into a similar world of fantasy. The history and geography of my country never seemed so appealing as a student back in school days. So when he was out with his first book of the Ram Chandra series, I wanted to relive the magic of mythology that he had wonderfully introduced.

The ‘Scion of Ikshvaku’ had a few surprise elements in store for me. I wasn’t prepared to read a slightly different version from my (limited) knowledge of the epic. Hence, some bits of the storyline was a revelation – the long held resentment of the King against his son, Manthara being a rich, shrewd businesswoman, ‘Nirbhaya’ like twist in the plot and Sita meeting Rama before her ‘Swayamvar’.

What stood out for me was the way in which the author reveals the emotions that make his characters come alive. Ram’s subdued pain that he has learnt to internalize is well written. So also the essence of his character comes out strongly in his adherence to his ‘dharma’ and law. The seething undercurrents between the queens in winning their husband’s attention were easily overlooked behind their costumes and jewellery on TV. The love and loyalty between the brothers evokes a sense of pride. The highlight for me was the introduction of Sita – a strong, feisty woman in all righteousness of an honoured princess. So much tougher from the timid, docile wife image that was showcased earlier. Even the Vishnu incarnate finds instant respect for her. Her beautiful and resilient form which is illustrated in book 2 ‘Sita –Warrior of Mithila’, makes you want to pick the book for the cover!

What I thought didn’t work in book 1 was the modern day slang-like language at some places, which just didn’t fit into the times this story is set. The pace and storyline does slack in patches. It doesn’t leave you in as much wonder as the Shiva trilogy did. Yet the author succeeds in weaving the different threads of the script together, well enough to set the stage for the upcoming sequels.

My rating: 3/5.

I am taking my Alexa Rank to the next level with #MyFriendAlexa and Blogchatter this September.

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This April 2017, I took up my first challenge as a blogger – The A to Z challenge of blogging. Writing 26 posts in a month based on a theme, each post beginning from a letter of the alphabet and a new post to be posted everyday except Sundays. It was indeed an exciting challenge during which I discovered several diverse blogs and connected with many bloggers. At the end of it, I became an author with my first ebook: ‘Small Servings of Wellness’

As a part of the #BlogchatterEBookCarnival, we authors of ebooks have to review at least three books from the carnival. ‘A to Z of Healing’ by Ishieta Chopra is the third book I am reviewing.

Why I chose this ebook for review:

Over the last many years, I have developed a strong affinity towards the spiritual aspects of life, which include various modalities of energy sciences and healing. One of the many blogs that had caught my attention during the A to Z Challenge was ‘isheeriashealingcircles’ by Ishieta Chopra for the sheer similarities of interest. I was instantly attracted to review this ebook of Ishieta’s so that I could read in detail the interesting content all over again. There were also some common practises that we both regularly indulge in, like meditation, writing the swastika symbol at the start of each new book and burning incense at home to name a few!

My views on the ebook:

‘A to Z of healing’ is essentially a compilation of nuggets from the author’s experience of many years as a healer. It encompasses various elements that one would associate with alternative healing, energy sciences, spirituality, promoting positivity and well being. Her knowledge of so many aspects of the ethereal sciences is commendable. This book introduces the readers very subtly to the A to Z of healing subjects, prompting them to explore more.

Though I was blissfully aware of several subjects from this ebook, some of the facts were quite a revelation for me:

That we need a Guru to awaken the Kundalini within us.

The prayer flags represent sending out prayers to the universe, and when they start tearing off is when our prayers are being answered.

I have studied the science of chakras through pranic healing and reiki. Yet I was not aware that each of our chakras is associated with planets and seed mantras.

So also essential oils are associated with zodiac and astrology.

Hynotherapy was used in childbirth in ancient times to calm the mother in labour.

Very few healers I know cover so many diverse aspects of healing modalities. I congratulate Ishieta on all her healing endeavours and wish her success ahead.

Key takeaways for me:

This book has inspired me further to grow in my spiritual pursuits. Tarot card deck is something I have been meaning to learn, so that is something I will act upon soon. I practice different styles of meditation regularly, so using water images with all our senses for meditation is something to look forward to. I am an advocate of alternative medicines. Having heard of Bach Flower therapy from a friend who practises it, maybe I should explore that a bit more.

Rating: 4/5. What could have been better in this ebook is consistency in text formatting for flawless reading,

About the author:

Ishieta Chopra was introduced to the world of Healing, Numerology, and Magick by the oldest school of education and learning –her mother! She has been practicing alternative methods of healing for over a decade and a half. She is the Co-Author of the eBook: “Numerology – The Power of Numbers” (available on Amazon.in.) A practicing Numerologist, Tarot Reader & Reiki Healer & Master, she has set up Isheeria’s Healing Circles to help people Learn, Heal & (Re) Design their lives through the Esoteric Arts and Healing Methods.

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Writing our first book can be such a pleasure, what with having earned the label of becoming an author! As a part of the #BlogchatterEBookCarnival, each of us authors have to pick 3 ebooks for reviews on our blog. My first review was of the eBook ‘Writing Tools’ by Cheryl Sterling: #EBook Review

Here’s presenting my second review for the #BlogchatterEBookCarnival with the ebook ‘Off Beats’ by Gayatri Gadre.

Why I chose this ebook for review:

Travel is one of my strong passions. To pick a book on offbeat travel destinations to review – I knew that would be something to look forward to. It’s always interesting to read on varied travel stories. Every traveler has their own experience of looking at a place and describing the details from their lens. I was curious to know of Gayatri’s perspective of travel as well as her style of writing. Another reason why I picked her book – she was the only blogger from the A to Z Challenge 2017 I had the privilege to meet offline.

My views on the ebook:

Gayatri shares an honest account of her travel tales in a simple, conversational – like informal tone. She writes about a variety of places – from the countryside of Bath in UK to our very own Elephanta caves in Mumbai. Her interests as a tourist reflect diversity – whether enjoying the museums in London to paragliding in Kamshet; from spotting a unique orchestra on a railway station to camping under the stars.

Gayatri shares important information out of her own learning from different places. Travel tips like how to best reach the destination, what not to wear, what to avoid, what is a must-do and sharing important info links all serve as handy tips for passionate travelers.

How I wish I had the luxury and time to travel like her, with long road trips and unplanned stopovers. Like she rightly says, we live multiple lives while traveling! What stands out is her vivid expressions of the places. What also strikes out is her own personal connect with the place, for e.g. when she describes the Stonehenge or shares the poignant message of the Corpus clock at Cambridge.

Key takeaways for me:

The lesser-explored places have their own charm, each place speaks its own story to each traveler. Anne Frank’s museum will definitely be on my list when I visit Amsterdam. ‘Off Beats’ is a recommended read for those who like to take the untrodded travel path.

My rating:4/5

Connect with the author:

Gayatri Gadre likes to call herself an explorer than an author. She offers digital marketing services to companies worldwide and in her free time she pursues various hobbies such as Latin ballroom dancing, Pottery, Origami and craft. Watch out for her soon to release debut novel.

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The A to Z Blogging Challenge in April saw many bloggers like me transform into authors with their first eBook. The Blogchatter platform was instrumental in encouraging this transition. As a part of the #BlogchatterEBookCarnival, each of us have to pick 3 ebooks for reviews on our blog. So here I am with my first eBook review:

Why I chose this ebook for review:

During the challenge, I got to know of so many bloggers blogging about various things across a whole lot of topics. Some of the bloggers did leave an impact, whether through their content or comments or connection – Cheryl Sterling was one of them. I enjoyed reading her posts, though couldn’t read them all in detail and told myself – I would like to revisit her blog. Her eBook ‘Writing Tools’ with 26 tips for improved writing and marketing surely seemed very appealing to the newbie blogger in me. Thus this first pick for my reviews.

My take on the ebook:

Cheryl has been an author with a career spanning eighteen years. Her experience and professionalism is very evident in her writing, an essential aspect of the book that first came through. The ebook encompasses essential tips required for writers to learn and market their content. The language is simple even for the non tech-savvy to comprehend and the content flows well.

While the author impresses upon us what one should do during the process, she is also candid in expressing what did not work for her so that we do not pursue the same thing. The author’s personal learning experience with certain tools acts as a foolproof testimony.

I was amazed with the depth she goes into for certain aspects of writing. For example, developing her fictional characters using Myers-Briggs personality test and Numerology. Her analysis across comparative tools (e.g. Draft2Digital vs Smashwords) is well-articulated. The book highlights the various social media channels and how to use them optimally including networking, importance of groups, scheduling, etc.

The ebook indicates the author’s passion as well as expertise in the field. I only wish that the related links were highlighted in a separate colour or underlined for a quick reference/click.

Ebook recommended for:

‘Writing Tools’ by Cheryl Sterling is a valuable collection of tips for all aspiring authors, content writers, digital marketing students and anyone who wants to know the precious tools in the content marketing world.

My rating:4.5/5

About the author:

Cheryl Sterling is an American author of several paranormal and contemporary romance novels and short stories. Her first novel, What Do You Say to a Naked Elf?, was a finalist in the TARA contest and was later sold to Leisure Books, an imprint of Dorchester Publishing. Cheryl is a co-founder and past president of Grand Rapids Region Writers Group in Grand Rapids, MI. She has conducted several workshops that focused on the writing craft and co-chaired their first “I’ve Always Wanted to Write a Book” regional conference. Her passion is learning and improving her craft, but mostly, she is a teacher. Cheryl currently lives in Phoenix with her husband and their cat, Coco Xena.

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“Zen is another word for zest…living life passionately, making life a joy, a festival, a love, a laughter…for zip and zap and zing.” ~Osho

I like the word ‘Zen’. It has a distinct energy to it. I can imagine only flowing with this word. It exudes an upbeat feeling, something constantly on the move. So when I saw this book amongst Osho’s several other books at his Commune, I chose to make ‘Zen – living the fire of life’ my first Osho read.

As adolescents, maybe we grew up with a negative notion of sorts about Osho. Perhaps that prompted me more to explore his teachings at the Commune in Pune. And lead me to his fabulous variety of active meditations.

Energy. Movement. Dance.

This was in abundance in all his discourses as well as meditations. Moving with the constant flow of life and in full awareness of the present moment is broadly the essence of Osho’s teachings.

There are three L’s of my philosophy: life, love, laughter. Life is only a seed, love is a flower, laughter is a fragrance.

‘Zen’ encompasses his beliefs in a question and answer format with his disciples. The caption sums up the core of this book beautifully: Living the fire of life with zest, zip, zap and zing. Not the one to conform to any tradition, scriptures, religion or political grounds, his views are bold and revolutionary. With my own built up of courage over the years and experience with the unconventional, it is easier to make sense of Osho’s philosophy –now.

Key Highlights:

“Silence is not empty, it is very full. The moment you are absolutely attuned with nothingness, the whole descends in you, the beyond penetrates you.”

“Freedom is the ultimate desire of man. Man comes to flowering only in freedom. Meditation will bring freedom.”

“If God is the creator, then the only way to worship him is creativity.”

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“The biggest thrill you can ever achieve is to live the life of your dreams.” ~Oprah Winfrey

If I was ever granted a wish to meet one person in this world, just anyone in my wish list, it would be the woman I admire from my very core: Oprah Winfrey. To me, she is an epitome of ‘woman of substance’. A legend in her own right and an inspiring public figure. ‘What I know for sure’ is a beautiful book with excerpts from her monthly column of the same name in her magazine –O, The Oprah magazine.

I was once afraid of people saying, ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am’.

Oprah has shared her wise gems from life’s experiences and lessons that have been revised, updated and packed with her insights in this beautiful book. To read her book and thereby getting a peep into her world of thoughts was an absolute delight! There’s just so much to learn, absorb, ponder and admire in her words, it is difficult to extract the best to put it out here. Nevertheless, here goes a glimpse of this enlightening book:

Key takeaways for me:

“Look inward – loving begins with you.”

“Sometimes we get so focused on the difficulty of our climb that we lose sight of being grateful for simply having a mountain to climb.”

“Being a mother is the hardest job on earth. Women everywhere must declare it so.”

“Wealth is a tool that gives you choices – but it cant compensate for a life not fully lived and it certainly can’t create a sense of peace within you.”

“Find a way to get paid for doing what you love. Then every pay check will be a bonus.”

“Evolving as a human being is a lifelong excavation process – digging deep to uncover your underlying issues.”

“Making a bold move is the only way to advance toward the grandest vision the universe has for you.”

“We are all the artists of our own lives – and that we can use as many colours and brushstrokes as we like.”

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When the student is ready, the teacher appears. This I have experienced in some ways with things and people that have come into my life at just the right time. For instance, during the painful period of my separation, I was curious to learn more about the Law of Karma. Whether there really exists one and does it truly affect our relationships. That’s the time I did Past Life Regression (PLR) workshop with Mr. Santosh Joshi – a motivational speaker, author, SKY healer, PLR therapist and life coach. This workshop was enlightening for me in several ways. After a few months, he invited me to attend his SKY workshop.SKY is a new-age healing technique devised by Santosh and is based on the premise that we have potent healing powers within us. It is a combination of stimulating energy medians in our body, the miraculous power of our breathing and creative visualisation. This 12-minute healing method aims to restore harmony of the body and mind at mental, emotional and physical levels. SKY is an effective self-help stress-buster in our busy lives.

Based on this practice, Santosh Joshi has recently launched his third book called ‘SKY is not the limit’. His previous books ‘Keys’ and ‘Many Lives One Soul’ have been bestsellers and having read them both, are on my recommendation list for personal growth. Eminent personalities such as Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Rahul Dravid, Mallika Sarabhai and even spiritual leaders such as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Sister Shivani and Dada Vaswani have supported Santosh’s work. He also conducts customised workshops for corporates.

Santosh is a wonderful human being who is continuing to make a strong impact in the spiritual sphere.

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“There is a truth deep down inside of you that has been waiting for you to discover it and that truth is this: you deserve all good things life has to offer.” ~Rhonda Byrne

Rhonda Byrne’s ‘The Secret’ was one book I remember which had aroused lot of curiosity immediately after its launch. This self-help book is based on a universal Law of Attraction which is based on the premise that positive thinking can bring about life-changing results in all areas of our life like relationships, wealth, health, career, etc.

In her third book ‘The Magic’ Rhonda emphasises the power of gratitude in more detail. She takes the readers on a 28-day journey to apply this incredible knowledge in their daily lives in order to magically transform every aspect of their lives.

Rhonda’s books taught me two valuable practices which I have learnt to integrate in my life: the power of creative visualisation and the power of gratitude. Its amazing how when you are open to changing the frequency of your thoughts and beliefs, your perspective towards life is altered. The universe does start showing you what you wish to manifest. It was extremely enlightening to read the teachings from renowned people like Bob Procter, Lisa Nichols, Jack Canfield, Joe Vitale and many others.

When we want things in our life to change, we got to change our thoughts and habits!

Key Highlights:

“What you think about you bring about. Your whole life is a manifestation of the thoughts that go in your head.”

“Most of us have never allowed ourselves to want what we truly want, because we can’t see how it’s going to manifest.”

“You don’t need to know how it’s going to come about. The Universe will start to rearrange itself to make it happen for you.”

“Gratitude is absolutely the way to bring more into your life.”

“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.”

“That’s the thing with magic. You’ve got to know it’s still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.”

This post is part of the #AtoZChallenge 2017 Blogging from A to Z: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/.I write about my spiritual and personal growth influences from A to Z.
My previous posts in chronology:

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It is such a human tendency to speak to God and to ask Him questions when things in our life get difficult. But what if you would get a response from God! Imagine receiving answers from the Almighty Himself! That is what author Neale Donald Walsch experienced in his low phase. Thus was born this beautiful series of books called ‘Conversations with God’.

A conversation with God where the author poses questions and he gets the answers via a dictation. When he wondered whom does God talk to in this manner, God replied that He talks to everyone, all the time, but who really cares to listen?

Whether we call it our inner voice or our inner guidance, we can seek the answers to our most difficult questions – within. Seek and you shall receive is perhaps most true about our connection with the higher power. For those with an open mind, a limitless curiosity and a sincere desire to find answers, his books are very inspiring.

If you do read this series, go a step further to connect with your own inner voice. I did too in my desperate times*. The conversation is real. And it begins when you decide to be still and listen.

Key Highlights:

“If I do not go within, I go without.”

“All human actions are motivated at their deepest level by one of two emotions – fear or love.”

“What you do in the time of your greatest trial can be your greatest triumph. For the experience you create is a statement of who you are and who you want to be.”

This post is part of the #AtoZChallenge 2017 Blogging from A to Z: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/. I write about my spiritual and personal growth influences from A to Z. My previous posts in chronology:

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“When you feel lost, pause and look closely around you. Somewhere, somehow, an angel will be waiting to guide you home.” ~Author unknown

Angels are real. They surround us. We can call upon them when we need them.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have believed any of the above. But when I was truly seeking a Guardian Angel in my life, to hold me in my moments of despair and show me the way forward, I had found one. The connection was real and it remains. Had it not been for certain ethereal experiences I have had, I would have continued to think that angels existed only in stories.

The word ‘Angel’ is derived from the ancient Greek word ‘Angelos’ meaning ‘messenger’. Truly, Angels are regarded as ‘Messengers of God.’ They are pure beings of divinity who want to help us in all areas of our lives. It is possible to sense their presence around us, and in some cases even see and hear them.Dr. Sneh Desai is an expert motivational speaker, inspirational coach and leader. After his Mind Power workshop had made an impression, I had bought his book ‘I believe in Angels, do you?’ in curiosity of the connection with my own angel. In this book, he goes into the details of types and names of different angels, sensing their presence, ways of connecting with them and asking for help in various areas.

Ask for an angel’s guidance from your heart’s deepest, honest desire..and you may find what you are seeking!

Key Highlights:

“Remove the clutters and stagnant energy in your life to make space for Angels.”